Photo: Nissan
Two Nissan engineers have developed tech to help drivers remember to check their rear seats after setting their car in park. Elsa Foley, an industrial engineer, and Marlene Mendoza, a mechanical engineer, teamed up to develop the Rear Door Alert (RDA)* technology.
“We pushed each other along and knew we were on the right track one morning when Marlene discovered she had left a pan of lasagna in the back seat of her car one night after coming home after a long day at the office,” said Foley. “The worst thing was the car smelled for days, but it made me ask myself, ‘what if that had been something else back there?'”
Their innovative tech will be a standard feature on the soon-to-be released (in September!) 2018 Nissan Pathfinder SUV as well as be included in future Nissan models, according to Nissan.
Check Out: 2017 Nissan Pathfinder
“There’s a culture of innovation along with the Nissan Intelligent Mobility mission that really encourages employees around the world to seek out new ideas every day,” said Mendoza. “We’re thankful that we were able to use our perspectives as moms, and our backgrounds as engineers, to bring forward an idea that is now going into production – providing drivers with a reminder to check their back seats.”
The Rear Door Alert system hits the horn, specifically a set of signature and customizable honks, which can be disabled, to grab the attention of a Nissan driver who has exited the parked vehicle.
“The idea is if you open a rear door, whether to put a child or a package in the rear seat, the vehicle will help alert you when you get to your destination that you may want to check the rear seat,” said Mendoza. “We’ve built in enough time that you don’t have to rush, but if you don’t open the rear door again when you get out of the vehicle, we want you to think for a moment about what you may have put in the back seat.”
Learn More: History of Nissan
RDA is the most recent addition to Nissan Motor Corporation’s Intelligent Safety Shield Technologies, which also include available tech such as Intelligent Distance Control (I-DC), Intelligent Around View® Monitor (I-AVM), Intelligent Lane Intervention (I-LI), Intelligent Blind Spot Intervention (I-BS), and Intelligent Driver Alertness (I-DA).
*Rear Door Alert is intended to remind people to check the back seats of their vehicle under certain circumstances. It cannot prevent accidents caused by inattention or carelessness.
News Source: Nissan
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